Hundreds of thousands struggle for tickets as Peter Kay announces string of new dates

Peter Kay fans spent Saturday morning queuing for hours to try and secure tickets for the comedian's long-awaited return to the stage.

Many struggled to secure their tickets, despite a string of new dates being added to the 49-year-old's first tour in 12 years.

Some fans reported seeing messages on the Ticketmaster website telling them there were more than 200,000 people ahead of them in the virtual line.

Kay, who's been out of the spotlight in recent years, announced earlier this month that he is embarking on an arena tour, including a residency at London's O2 Arena. He's the first artist to perform monthly at their prestigious venue.

As tickets went on sale on Saturday morning, Ticketmaster tweeted: "As expected, Peter Kay is super popular this morning.

"To make it as fair as possible, we have put everyone in a queue. Be patient and don't refresh or you'll lose your place."

The rush to secure tickets also prompted the hashtags #PeterKayTour and #Ticketmaster to begin trending on Twitter.

Channel 5 News host Dan Walker was among those in the queue, tweeting: "Trying to get Peter Kay tickets is like trying to get an appointment at the GP!

Fellow comic Jason Manford joked: "Phew lucky enough to get 2x Peter Kay tickets.

"For sale 2x Peter Kay tickets, #3500 each ono."

Others compared the experience to the famously difficult task of securing tickets to Glastonbury Festival.

Customers of O2, Virgin Media and Three were offered access to presale tickets two days earlier, but also faced huge demand, with some services crashing.

O2 and Virgin said it was "by far the highest demand we've ever seen for priority tickets in 15 years".

Kay, from Bolton, has been largely out of the spotlight in recent years.

He cancelled his last tour in December 2017, citing "unforeseen family circumstances".

Kay returned to the stage in August 2021 for two special charity events to raise money for Laura Nuttall, a then 20-year-old with an aggressive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme.